Demountable truck body



June 4, 1935. B, F, FH- H 2,003,287

DEMOUN TABLE TRUCK BODY Filed Dec. 5, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet l 0 n E L 1 O0 C) 0 m. we

June 4,1935, B. F. FITCH DEMOUNTABLE TRUCK BODY 5 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Dec.

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DEMOUNTABLE TRUCK BODY Filed Dec. 5, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet. 4

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June 4, 1935. B. F. FITCH DEMOUNTABLE TRUCK BODY Filed Dec. 5, 1930 5Sheets-Sheet 5 gmenl oc PM June 4?. 1935 UNITED STATES 2,003,287nnuonmunm rauox BODY Benjamin F. Fitch, Greenwich, Conn, alsignor I toMotor Terminals Del, a corporation of Delaware mpany, Wilmington,

Application December 5, 1030, Serial No. 500,180

2 Claim.

This invention relates to a demountable vehicle body suitable forinterchangeable use on a highway truck or railway flat car. The primaryobiect of the invention is to provide such a body in a form, which,without being unduly heavy. shall be very strong, stiff and able toresist not only such stremes as may come upon it in the normal operationof transferring and transporting a body, gut also provide againstdistortion from accidental lows.

Another object is to make the construction very tight sO that there willbe no danger of the contents being injured from rain or other waterconditions. This tight connection is made by a Z-bar door frame in whichthe doors seat, the inner flange of the z-bar abutting the door in itsinner face. Means are also provided at the top of the door to preventleakage into the body.

The invention comprises means for accomplishing the above objects, aswell as various minor improvements contributing to the efliciency of thebody, all as hereinafter more fully explained in connection with thedrawings.

1n the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of two of my interchangeabledemountable bodies mounted on a flat car; Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofone of the same bodies and an automobile truck onto which it is beinglowered; Fig. 3 is al side elevation of the body itself; Fig. 4 is anend view of the body; Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section of thebody in a plane passing through the sup porting hooks, as indicated bythe line 5-5 on Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a vertical section, on a larger scalethan Figs. 4 or 5, through one end of the'body as indicated by the line6-5 on Fig. 4, this view showing the door closed; Fig. 6a is a detail,being a fragment of a portion of Fig. 6 with the door open; Fig. 7 is anelevation partly broken away of a vertical portion of the body includingand immediately surrounding a pair of doors; Figs. 8 and 9 are detailsin side elevation, showing the upper and lower hinges for the doors;Fig. 10 is a detail in horizontal section, illustrating the door jambconstruction, the plane of this section being indicated by the lineill-l0 on Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a transverse vertical section of the bodythrough opposite side doors, as indicated by the line lili on Fig. 3;Fig. 12 is a detail illustrating the contruction at the free edges ofthedoors, in a plane indicated by the line lZ-iB on Fig. 3; Figs. 13, i4and 15 are details in horizontal section, the position being indicatedby the correspondingly numbered line on Fig. 4; Fig. 16 is a verticalsection through the roof, the

plane being indicated by the line il-li on Fig.

5; Fig. 1''! is a detail of a side wall construction,

as indicated by the line |'|--ll on Fig. 3; Fig.

18 is a sectional planof the body-base just above I the floor, in planesindicated by the line l8l8 5 in Fig. 3, the floor being largely brokenaway; Fig. 19 is a detail of the body through one of the positioningsockets in the floor frame, being a vertical section on the line I9i9 ofFig. 18.

The floor frame of my demountable body is 10 made up of inwardly facingchannel beams suitably secured together at the four corners; that is tosay, as shown, a pair oi longitudinal side beams l0 and a pair of andbeams ll, secured together at the corners by having their webs rivl5eted to lower portions of upright angle bars 30, which, as hereinafterstated, form the corners of the body walls. Between the side beams ll!of the floor frame are a number of cross beams as I3, it and lb (Fig.18), which may be I-beams 20 secured by angle clips l6 and rivets to thewebs of the side channels l0. Between the cross beams l6 and it Isecure, by angle clips and rivets, longitudinal channel beams H whichmay be braced by intermediate cross beams 18. Likewise the cross beamsl3 and I5 may be braced by longitudinal beams l9. Suitable gussets itare provided connecting the cross beams l3, l4 and I5 with the sidesills I 0 and with the intermediate longitudinal members l7, thus makinga very still so and rigid floor frame, which, at the same time iscomparatively light.

The various longitudinal and transverse members of the floor frame,within the boundary of the side and end sills, preferably all come tothe same height and thus form an efiective support for the interiorwooden floor. This fioo'r may readily comprise longitudinal plankingmembers 20 surmounted by transverse members H, as shown in Figs. 18 and6. This makes a very tight 40 and effective support enabling the body tocarry a heavy load on its floor, at the same time the planks, crossingeach other and being secured together, tend to rigidify the whole floorframe, preventing any skewing, warping or other distortion thereof.

As heretofore stated the side and end sills of the floor frame aresecured at their meeting ends by vertical angle bars 30 which constitutethe comers of the body. In other words, these angle bars 30 extendvertically from the floor frame to the eaves of the body and haveriveted directly to them, plates 31 for the sides of the body and 32 forthe ends of the body. These plates are riveted at their. vertical edgesto the angle bars and metal sheets at their lower edges to the webs ofthe side and end sills of the floor frame. At the eaves, the side platesare riveted to the downward flanges 40 of oblique angle eave plates, theother flanges 4| of which constitute part of the roof.

In the roof, I provide transverse roof bars 48 which are trough-shapemembers having lateral flanges 48, as shown in Fig. 16. These barsextend beneath the inwardly directed flanges 4| of the eave plates andare riveted to them-see Fig. 5. The roof proper comprises corrugated 50which rest on the flanges 46 of the roof bars, and also extend over thetop of the flanges 4| of the eave plates. Adjacent the center, thecorrugated roof is protected by a longitudinal wooden strip 52 bolted tothe roof bar flanges 46 by bolts 53 passing intermediately through thecorrugated roof, as shown in Fig. 16. A similar construction is employedadjacent the edges of the roof where a protecting strip is bolted inplace by bolts passing through the protecting strip, the corrugatedroof, the eave plate flange and the flange 46 of the roof bar.

Each side wall of a doorway reaching from the floor frame to the eaveplate, while at the ends are doorways of the same height as thesidexdoors, which here extend from the end sills to a region a shortdistance from the curve of the roof, the space above the end doorwaysbeing fllled by end plates 35 (Figs. 4 and 6) which are riveted at theirupper ends to transverse angle bars 48 to which are also secured thecorrugated roof sheets 50.

The door jambs both at the sides and at the ends are formed by Z-bars,one extreme flange of which is secured to the vertical wall, while theintermediate web extends inwardly at right angles, and beyond the dooropening the inner flange extends freely behind the door. The firstmentioned or secured flange of the Z-bar is preferably materiallygreater in extent than the other members, as shown in the case of boththe side door frames and the end door frames 6| (Fig. 18). Either doorframe is illustrated by Figs. 6 and 10. As there appears, the outsideflanges 52 of .the vertical Z-bars are riveted to the side or endsheets, as 32, while the floor portion of the Z-bar flange is riveted tothe webs of the side or end sills. as H, and the lintel portion isriveted to the outer face of the eave bar or the end top sheet 35.

The intermediate web 53 of the door frame extends inwardly for adistance corresponding to the thickness of the door, so that the freeflange 64 of the Z-bar is adapted to be abutted by the inner face of thedoor when the outer face is flush with the outer side of the Z-barflange 62, as shown in Figs. 10 and 13. In other words, the door is setinto the door frame provided by the Z-bar boundary.

In order to rigidity the Z-bar boundary in its vertical reaches,preventing it from being inadvertently bowed inwardly, I provide areinforcing plate 65 (Fig. 10) bearingagainst the inner flange 64 of themain Z-bar, then extending as an oblique! and having its portion 66lying against the inner face of the sheet. The same rivets hold thisinner Z-bar as secure the outer Z-bars. The inner Z-bar acts as a trussto brace the inwardly extending flange of the door frame Z-bar andprevent any distortion thereof due to inadvertent blows.

At the bottom of the door frame, the inward flange 63 of the bottomZ-bar is preferably a distance above the top of the channel beam iii thebody is interrupted by the door and or II corresponding to the thicknessof the underplanking 20 of the floor, and thus this underplankingextends beneath this z-bar flange 63 and is held in place thereby, whilethe upper or transverse planking abuts against the upwardly extendingextreme flange 64 of the bottom z-bar, all as shown in Fig. 6. Thus, thebottom Z-bars act to brace the floor, and the floor to brace the doorjamb.

The doors may be of any suitable construction. I have shown them asconsisting of planking 10 surfaced by sheet metal plates 'II and 12 onthe inside and outside and over the edges, but other constructions maybe employed if desired, as for instance truss plates with edge fillerstrips. In any event, the door is intended to stand within the recess ofthe Z-bar door flange with the outer side of the door substantiallyflush with the outer member of the jamb.

The doors are provided with hinge straps 15 (Figs. 8 and 9) bolted orotherwise secured to them, which have eyes adapted to extend overstationary hinge pintles 11 carried by eyes of straps 18 secured to theouter vertical flanges 62 of the Z-bar door frame. The stationary strapis thus secured to the flange of the door frame and also by the samerivets to the internal brace bar, so that the weight of the door iseffectively distributed on the frame.

When the door is closed it ishoused within the inwardly depressed doorjamb and thus cannot be raised, but when turned at right angles to theplane of the door jamb, the door may be lifted off the hinge pintles,and set aside if desired. This frequently expedites the loading of thebody. When the doors are closed, a suitable batten strap 14 on one dooroverlaps the meeting edges of the doors, as shown in Fig. 12, to make atight connection.

Leakage of water or snow to the interior of the body is prevented at thebottom and hinged vertical edges of the doors by reason of thecomparatively snug engagement of the door edges with the intermediateZ-bar webs and of the back of the door with the extreme Z-bar flange. Toprevent any possible leakage seeping in at the top of the door andpassing between the door top and the horizontal web of the door jamb andthen working down between the inner faces of depending inner flange ofthe jamb, I provide a rain shield 80 (Figs. 6, 6a and '7). The rainshield is a shedding plate riveted to the top end plate 35 at the endsof the car, and extends freely outwardly in front of the top Z-bar ofthe door frame, terminating just above the plane in which the top of thedoor swings. This shedding plate 80 prevents any water coming down in avertical or inclined direction, from reaching the top of the door.

To prevent snow or water which may be blown horizontally from reachingthe door top, I provide a spring metal weather-strip 55 riveted to thefront flange 63 of the top Z-bar and extending beneath the horizontalweb 64 of the Z-bar. When the door is open, this weather strip willextend somewhat in an inclined position, as shown in Fig. 6a, but whenthe door is closed, the strip is bent by the door upwardly in ahorizontal position, as shown in Fig. 6, it thus makes a tightconnection at the top of the door.

The weather strip 55 extends clear across the door frame from onevertical side of the jamb to the other. The shedding plate 80 extendsacross the door frame with the exception that it terminates just shortof the opposite sides,

enough so that when the doors are swung out at right angles they willcelar the shedding plate and thus may be lifted off. The amount of wateror snow which could possibly reach the top edge of the door beyond theshedding plate is necessarily very small, but whatever it is, it isamply taken care of by the weather strip 55.

As my demountable body is adapted to contain many tons of freight, it isimportant that there be effective cable attaching means whereby the bodywith its load may be lifted without causing any stresses to the body. Tothis end I provide vertical straps terminating at their ends in hooks9|, these straps being riveted throughout their length to the sideplates 3|. The side plates are reinforced by inclined strips 93 whichextend from the upper end of the side sheet close to the vertical strapdiagonally downwardly and outwardly so that they terminate adjacent theend of the body and adjacent the intermediate door frame respectively,as shown in Fig. 3. These reinforcing strips 93 are preferably of troughshape, facing the sheet 3|, with flanges through which the rivets pass,as clearly shown in the cross section of Fig. 17.

The body I have described is adapted to be supported by four liftingcables at depending from a crane A, Fig. 2. When so supported, thevertical straps 90 and the inclined reinforces 93 distribute the liftingstresses over the entire floor frame.

To position the demountable bodies interchangeably on a fiat car C(Fig. 1) or a truck I) (Fig. 2), I prefer to employ a truck of lengthsuitable for carrying a single body and a car of a length adapted tocarry two bodies as illustrated in these figures. I form in the cornersof the floor frame of the body suitable sockets, and I provide on theframe of the truck and on the floor of the car, correspondinglypositioned upwardly extending positioning cones E which are adapted toenter these sockets and thus not only locate the body, but preventlateral shifting whether it is on the car or truck. The socket membersfor the body are shown in Figs. 18 and 19 and will now be described,though this feature is not claimed herein but in my divisionalapplication Ser. No. 649,192, filed December 28, 1932.

Adjacent each corner of the body, I provide a gusset plate I00 which isriveted or otherwise secured to the bottom flangesof the side sills l0and end sills ll. These gusset plates are intermediately stampedupwardly into hollow cones IOI forming sockets coacting with thecorrespondingly placed positioning members E on the car or on the truck.

It is only necessary to have the positioning sockets at the four cornersof the body, but to prevent any possible dislocation of a. body bybouncing off a corner cone, if a truck wheel should drop into a deephole, I prefer to provide intermediate positioners as shown at El on thetruck (Fig. 2), and to receive these positioners, I provide intermediatesockets in the body base. These intermediate sockets are shown asupwardly extending hollow cones I03 formed in gusset plates I04 securedto the intermediate transverse beam l4 and one or the other of theintermediate longitudinal beams l'l. As shown in Fig. 18 the transversebeam I4 is located somewhat nearer one end of the body than the otherend, so that both of these sockets may be on the same side of said beamand still be in the exact transverse center of the bodyj hence the bodymay be placed either end foremost on the same truck with all of thepositioning cones and sockets registering.

It will be understood from the description given, that I have provided ametal container adapted to form a demountable body on a truck readilytransferable to a fiat car, this container having steel walls and roofand a wooden floor mounted on suitable steel floor beams, the entireconstruction being comparatively light and at the same time very strong.It should be noted that the body construction per se as'described hereinis claimed in my divisional application N 0. 649,191, filed December28th, 1932, the present invention being concerned especially with thedoor frame and water-tight connections. It will be noticed also that thedoors, being inset within the inwardly depressed j ambs are protectedthereby and not liable to be injured in use by the body being scrapedagainst any projection. Moreover, these doors form a very tightconnection with the door jambs, protecting the interior against damagefrom weather.

I claim:- v

1. A demountable body having a wallwith a doorway, said doorway havingan inwardly recessed lintel, a pair of doors secured at their outeredges by lift-off hinges adjacent the vertical sides of the doorway,said doors being adapted to swing into the recess provided by thelintel, a weather shield secured to the body wall above the doorwayextending downwardly and outwardly from the body wall, said shieldterminating at its ends short of the vertical plane along the innerfaces of the door jamb whereby the doors may be lifted off verticallywhen standing at right angles to the wall, and a weather strip lyingwithin the recessed lintel and contacting the top of the door whenclosed whereby rain is diverted at the points not protected by theshield.

, 2. In a demountable body for a vehicle, comprising a floor frame,walls and roof, a door frame in a wall of the body, a wooden floorwithin the body comprising a lower layer of planking resting on thefloor frame, an upper layer of planking resting on the lower layer, theedges of the upper layer terminating short of the edges of the lowerlayer at the door frame, a Z-bar forming the lower member of the doorframe, said Z-bar having a vertical flange secured tothe floor frame andextending upwardly across the edge of the lower layer of planking, saidZ-bar having an intermediate horizontal web overlying the upper surfaceof the lower layer of planking, said Z-bar having its other verticalflange abutting the edge of the upper layer of planking, and a verticaldoor adapted when closed to have its lower end above said Z-bar web andoutside of the last-named vertical flange.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH.

